During this year that seems like it will never end, it helps me to remember wonderful trips I've made in recent years AND to make some greatly-modified plans for the upcoming holiday season. You'll read about the short junket we're anticipating in December of 2020 as soon as it happens. Because of quarantines and other restrictions, the trips we made in 2018 to New York City..........
and in 2019 to Germany and Austria.......
......are impossible right now. Oh, how glad I am that we went when we could!!!
Take heart. The wonderful place I visited in December of 2017 reopened to the public on September 22, takes only a few hours to reach by car and is welcoming mask-wearing visitors in for tours. Hills and Dales Estate in LaGrange, Georgia is gorgeous. Holiday tours will begin on December 4 and extend through December 31. During those days, the 13,000 foot home, built for Fuller E. Callaway and his wife Ida Cason Callaway in 1916, is decorated as closely as possible to the way it was when the Callaways lived there and entertained their guests. The live greenery and impressive Christmas trees add stunning touches to the already spectacular rooms. Because of COVID, only the first floor will be open to the public, and tours will be limited to 6 people at a time this year. The gardens, conceived and first created by Sarah Ferrell, were expanded by various generations of Callaways and are a treat to see as well. The lush greenhouses are wonderful. Admission prices are $15 for adults, $8 for students, and children 6 and under are free. I'd also suggest checking the website for gingerbread house decorating and wreath making classes in the days leading up to the holiday tours.
For more information about other things to see and do in LaGrange, check out these articles I've written in the past. If you see anything interesting, be sure to check the websites for any COVID-related updates and adjusted schedules. There's some mighty good food in LaGrange, and the Biblical History Center is remarkable.